Midline Sensory Integration in Callosal Agenesis

Since the pioneering work of Sperry in the ‘50s and early ’60s, a large body of knowledge has accumulated confirming callosal involvement in interhemispheric transfer of lateralized information. The necessity of having a structure that ensures communication between the two half-brains derives from the fact that sensory and motor functions are essentially lateralized, and also from the fact that some higher-order processes, such as language, appear to be primarily controlled by only one hemisphere. The interruption of this interhemispheric link, through surgical intervention to alleviate uncontrollable epilepsy or because of genetic or developmental problems, as in callosal agenesis, typically results in the subjects showing some form of disconnection syndrome.